Born to nothing
by Mika the Supreme Ninja
Summary: Mika was born to nothing. No clan, no bloodline, no extra power beyond what he could scrap together on his own. He works hard, even at twelve, with a part time job and training into the dusk and finding unusual ways to gain power. It helps, of course, to have made friends with Shino Aburame, but nothing comes easy. He will rise though, he will be known! Redo of Chameleon. OC
1. Introductions

**My Reedition of Chameleon. I learned a lot since I wrote that, about Mika, about me, and I remembered my goal for the character...**

**Fun nugget of knowledge. Naruto lost both the Prelims and his fight with Neji, technically anyway. He was knocked out for wayyyy more then three seconds. Had the rep done his job, Naruto would have lost.**

**I decided to fix three things... keep Mika's intended personality, actually integrate him both past and present with the characters/world, and make his abilities not so secret or advanced to be unrealistic. I think I finally, somehow, learned how to do that. I also learned not to use my stories as platform to soley bitch about characters and plot points. Make Mika a person here, not a Mary Sue that warps the series.**

**As for those of you who wondered why I didn't realize this before, I didn't understand what a Mary Sue was due to it being over used. I watched a great video by Overly Sarcastic Productions and I learned what it was and why it sucks. It has made me a better author.**

* * *

**"... Practice the Transformation Jutsu!" Iruka bellowed across the room, his anger clear for all to see. His intended target, a traffic cone with blonde hair, pouted and turned away.**

**"Again?" Mika wanted to puke, he was exhausted as it was. The last thing he needed was to be forced to cast another transformation, especially today when they were supposed to just be getting in some last minute studying for the graduation test. "How hasn't he been expelled, yet? He has missed at least forty classes, failed the graduation test twice, has the worst taijutsu of all of the students, calls Chakra Catra and just defaced the Hokage Mountain..." Turning to Shino, his only freind, Mika frowned. " Do you know why?"**

Always the quiet one, Shino answered mostly with a shrug. "Naruto has always been given great favor from the Hokage. Why is this? I cannot say, only that it might be tied to his parents, whomever they were. I asked my father, more then once. He refused to say much, and so I suspect they may have been criminals or powerful shinobi with powerful enemies."

"Obviously, enough... sigh... Can you steal me some chakra from Naruto? I used to much last night. Genjutsu training is exhausting."

Shino obeyed his request, and had a handful of his insects travel across the room to subtly suck chakra from Naruto and a few other students. "Only you would consider Genjutsu training exhausting."

"Low chakra levels, mixed my own creative form of training. Not all of us have bloodlines, clans or secret techniques. Some of us have to settle for creative training and desperation. Still, I am finally making progress on making my illusion strong enough to get those damned cats to ignore their noses. It's really a pity humans have such poor olfactory senses, especially when our memories are triggered more by scent then anything else." The insects, having their fills, had returned and pumped his body with spikes of chakra from the various people. "Thank you. I think we would be all but immune to genjutsu. Still, that we aren't will be good for me when we graduate."

Surges of simple, small, beautiful chakra washed into his body, slowly allowing him to come back up to about seventy percent of his total capacity in about five minutes or so. It was a simple system, one he and Shino had created the year before, when they first met. Shino helped him recover from his more exhausting training and the older boy received companionship he otherwise was incapable of getting. It was all give and take, bordering more on business then friendship, but that was merely in nature for the two boys.

"You are welcome. Why are you welcome, because you now owe me for services rendered."

"I am aware of that. Sword training tonight?"

Shino nodded, the other part of their relationship revolved around occasionally training together. Usually it was just a few spars after school, usually taijutsu since Shino was not the greatest Taijutsu user. Mika, despite his lack of a bloodline, was one of the better taijutsu users in the class with only Hinata and Sasuke being better, though Kiba was fast and strong.

"Ideally. It has been a while since I have had a chance to train with a blade. Why is this? My father has been pushing for me to master more of my clan jutsu. Hence your more heavy genjutsu training." Shino stopped for a moment, standing along side Mika. They slowly walked to the front of the room, to show their demonstration of the transformation Jutsu. "It has been a while since I last had you cast your illusions on me. How skilled have you become?"

Mika smirked, just a little. "Better, much better. I finally managed to cast one on multiple alley cats. Granted, it was just the Hell's viewing technique, but still. Progress." He turned to Shino and his smirk deepened. "Did you notice, I am wearing a genjutsu right now?"

That stopped the bug boy, who frowned. "Now I notice it, but earlier I did not... you are masking... three bruises?" He focused on Mika more, his insects clearly speaking to him. "You've lessened the need for chakra to a third of what it used to be, and you are having it on constantly. That is impressive."

"That is the idea."

Knowing it was better to be quiet, the two boys stopped talking and just watched the rest of their class try the transformation technique. Mika rolled his eyes for most, seeing pretty minor details missed. Mostly it was on their backs. An incorrect stich pattern, a discoloration, even a colic in one person's hair. Some, like Sakura Haruno's, was utterly perfect but that was no surprise as her chakra control was utterly flawless. Mika could feel it from here, thin and watery but utterly controlled.

'_As opposed to Naruto, I am a living chain of exploding volcanoes of Chakra, Uzumaki.'_ It was easy to sneer at the boy who had, as per usual, done something stupid for his transformation. A gorgeous girl with perky boobs hidden underneath a veil of smoke. _'I guess that would be effective as a shock tactic, who would expect something like this?' _Naruto's laughter, obnoxious and bordering on a mad cackle, destroyed any hope Mika may have had the boy could have used it for something other the a prank. '_Pity, with his prankster mindset, he might be a really tricky opponent.'_

Annoyance trickled in as Iruka screamed at the boy, who just laughed.

Then it was Shino's turn. His friend turned into Mika himself and said boy got a good look at himself.

He was short, shorter even then Naruto. He was androgynous, with a small round nose, high cheekbones, curly brown hair, redish lips, blue eyes and absolutely not emotion in his utterly exhausted looking face. _'I really look tired, don't I? Insomnia is not a kind.'_ He was dressed to the letter, with black ANBU looking pants, a grey shirt and underarmor, and a grey vest. He looked a lot like a chunin, and he liked it that way. Purpose, comfort and regulation standard.

"Good Job, Shino. Great attention to detail, but you need to work on your expressions. An Illusion means nothing if you cannot keep up the act."

Shino nodded slowly, turning to his friend. "I will keep that in mind, Sensei."

Then he was next, and he nodded to Iruka. With only one handsign, proof of his hard training, Mika focused on the image of Sakura Haruno and released his chakra. He didn't need to speak at this point, but did so anyway. " Transform." He kept his voice controlled, tight. Screaming your technique was stupid and would get you killed in combat.

There was barely any excess smoke, and suddenly he was Sakura Haruno. Flowing, heavy pink hair, beautiful green eyes, slightly large forehead and a generally low weight. Of course, he made an effort to act like her. He smiled, bright and shiny, and made his voice light but commanding desperate attention. " How is that Sensei!" He giggled, as she would before allowing his jutsu to fade, returning to his tired but natural appearance.

Iruka actually blinked, a little stunned. "Very...very good. Have you ever considered going into Information gathering or spywork?"

He shrugged, not bothering to let the man know that he knew exactally where he wanted to go. "It is up there in my list of employment." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, even as his body started to shake. _'I've tripled my chakra levels in a year and my reserves are still this puny. I wonder if there are drugs that can help me? Like steroids without the draw back. Note to self, look into this._' He moved towards the back of the line, sitting next to Shino, who was panting ever so slightly. "How are you? You said your father has been riding you hard lately." He focused hard and felt just how low Shino's chakra levels were... but also noticed that the boy had less then half of his beetles. "Your feeding?"

The bug boy nodded, and with that they settled into their normal pattern of not talking, just sitting next to each other while they did their work. They didn't need to chat, it was just nice to be around someone who wasn't bursting with emotion. Introverts had to stick together...

And yet, Mika was bored. He had been studying immeasurably hard since the beginning of his time at the academy. He was pretty damn sure he could have easily completed the academic portion of the Genin Exam after his first year. Of course, he knew fully that he wasn't the only one who could have done that.

_'Hinata is pretty smart... not a drop of confidence in her body, but she is smart and easily the best taijtusu user, even if she holds back out of fear.'_ His eyes turned to her, taking in her tiny, inwardly turned body. She was practically shaking, just by being in the center of a crowd. _'She is going to die within a year, two tops. She has no backbone. She cannot kill someone, she could not deal with criticism without breaking down. Maybe she could make a researcher? Or perhaps a healer Ninja? With the Byakugan, I can't imagine her not being able to become a talented medic. Well, that is, if she is even able to activate the Byakugan. I cannot remember a time where she has ever even turned it on.'_

From Hinata, his eyes moved to Sasuke, the second greatest source of Chakra in the room. '_Smart, Powerful and a skilled fighter. Clan training, even if it wasn't for his entire life, clearly has had it's mark. Not that it stopped me from besting him with throwing weapons and academic scores more then once. Not amazing though, why people call him a genius is beyond me. Of course, none of us would be considered a genius. It was once common for Shinobi to graduate at ten years old and yet here we all are, nearly thirteen, and just about to graduate. I guess that is the price of living in a time of peace.'_

Lastly, and unsurprisingly, his eyes turned to Ino Yamanaka. '_The only other sensor in the class. Strong chakra, smart and not a bad fighter. Why she lets herself act so stupid is beyond me. Still, she is the top Kunoichi, so I guess that is something.'_

He sighed, letting his head rest on the desk before him. '_I wonder if anyone realizes how irrationally foolish it is to only have the clan kids have any kind of individual training. I mean, Sakura will pass solely on her academic scores, but I have to train until sundown four or five nights a week just to get my body to catch up, and I have to practically live in the Library while I recover just to get an advantage in terms of knowledge. These kids have genetics, extra training and powerful families and most of them are just barely genin level. I am pretty sure we have the weakest class in a decade.'_

The repeated, and occasionally failed, Transformation punctuated his thoughts well until the end of the school day.

* * *

**Three hours later. **

**"Are you ready, Shino?" Mika kneeled down, making a point to stretch and get his body a little more limber. Sitting at a desk made him impossibly stiff. His practice sword came easily from it's sheath as he fell into his stance, facing Shino, who did the same. **

Not that they used the same weapons. Shino, being taller and physically stronger then Mika, had a longer Katana where as Mika had a shorter Tanto held back hand. Both boys, sank into their stances and without a word, began to spar.

Mika found himself moving first, moving in close to Shino, slashing his friend with speed and accuracy. He had to stay in close, his weapon was too short to be use otherwise. Shino knew this, and so his friend was taking tiny hops backward, making graceful long sweeps with his sword, forcing Mika to spend more time dodging the assaults to attack much more.

Their fight was not blinding, speedy or amazing. It was slow and methodical, fitting the skills of two barely experienced fighters not trying to accidentally kill each other. Their clangs only revealing their awkwardness as they proceeded to slowly increase in skill and confidence. Mika, the more experienced swordsmen, managed to disarm Shino with a clever twist of his wrist.

Only to receive a hard kick to the chest, sending him tumbling back.

The battle shifted, becoming twice as fast as both kicked and punched and dodged each other. Mika still had the edge in skill, and so Shino cheated, using his punches in an attempt to get some of his beetles on Mika.

Ducking under an overextention, Mika used the motion to twist Shino's arm and slam him harshly against the ground. The air ripped from his friend in a pained wheeze, just in time for him to explode into a mass of beetles, all of which shot as Mika to feed on his chakra. He dodged as fast as he could, leaping away into the tree in the sparing courtyard.

"Damn it, my chakra levels are too low for that." With considerable focus, he searched for Shino's chakra signature ignoring the near identical chakra inside the beetles. He had to restart twice, after being forced to flee his tree and land on the academy roof. "Where... there!" He turned, and found his cheating friend crouching behind a bush, hand out to lead the assault of beetles.

It was fun tossing a pepper bomb under Shino, ending the spar right there. The Beetles, without direction, starting to buzz mindlessly, meandering in groups around Shino. Many just dived back into his body, others clung to Mika in an attempt get a quick meal. He shook them off, not wanting to pass out or die from chakra exhaustion.

As the smoke faded, revealing a sneezing and coughing Shino, Mika decided to be nice and walked over to his friend. " Need help?" Shino nodded and together they made their way to the rest room to rinse off the pepper smoke. "You've gotten better, but you still have a bad habit of overextending."

"I know, it is a family taijtusu trick, one I am still working on. It is to get our beetles on people. It worked on you and your a sensor." There was an edge of smugness to Shino's voice, a proof of emotion Mika knew most people wouldn't believe. "That was one of the skills had me working on. There is another, but if is succeeded I would have hospitalized you. Iron Mountain leaning, Remind me to show you another time."

"Of course. I look forward to it."

And that was it. They didn't need exuberance and hugs and an excess of physical touch. Simple conversation and trust was enough for them.

* * *

**"You are cutting it close!" Mika just barely managed to not roll his eyes as he pulled on his apron, settling for a nod in acceptance of the scolding he was receiving. "I would have docked your pay if you were late!" **

"I know, Rei." He made a low bow before grabbing the closest broom and starting his night as he always did when he came to his job. "I was sparing with Shino Aburame." The mention of a clan child, as always, shut up any opposition. Like most people, Rei Fuma, was terrified of disrespecting the clans.

His boss was a tall, mildly plain looking lady with about fifty pounds of excess fat on her body. She ran one of the many local shops, selling low grade shinobi equipment. Mostly academy students, even clan students, were her clients. He was no exception and as such firmly enjoyed the discount afforded to him by working there. It was the only way he could ever afford that damned training Tanto! That cost him nearly five months of pay!

His current objective though... weights! He was not unaware of his weak body and wanted to do anything he could to supplement his strength and speed.

_'Might as well since I have just barely the requirements to even be a shinobi.' _Sighing just a little, he allowed his eyes to roam over the shop. '_Hmmm... nothing really new. Do I need anything? I could use some more senbon and maybe a new set of bandages... yeah, that should be it. Wait, I used a pepper bomb on Shino. Damn it, that is going to set me back!' _

Sighing, Mika lamented, just slightly, his orphan plight. '_At least tomorrow is graduation. I know I can graduate easily. Missions pay better then this cheap bitch, so I will be able to afford more then my crappy tanto.'_

It was with that pleasant thought that Mika warmed himself all of the way through his drab, boring shift and carried him until he showered, ate a filling carb heavy meal, and went soundly to sleep. Wanting to be totally rested for the exams to come. To the day when his future as a shinobi would actually begin.

It was something he could barely stand waiting for.

* * *

**_Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews. _**

**_I think I am doing better. He is still a kid, young and has a friend. He is socially integrated, at least slightly, and has a life. _**

**_We will see more of his genjutsu training later... _**

**_Love, your Ninja Overlord, _**

**_Mika. _**


	2. Teams and Meals and Tests!

**Why are bullies and Ugly people automatically evil or untalented in kids shows? Like good looks are not really a sign of talent in anything...**

**Also, why would no Ninja see the crap their leader pulls?**

**I wanted to add depth to Mika's teammates and make them matter. I also wanted to flesh out Raido, make him more of a person, complex and interesting... People act differently depending on their roles. **

* * *

**Mika**

**Civilian Born Orphan**

**Age:12**

**Sex:Male**

**Personality: Reserved and Dedicated, Mika has been spotted working to accumulate greater income to supplement his own training. Mature, good with money and rational. Crafted an alliance with Shino Aburame within moments of meeting the clan heir, receives chakra donations from the boy to recover from his intense training. Incredibly self motivated and career driven, self taught Kenjutsu and Genjutsu skills. **

**Intelligence : Needs further assessment. Top of class in terms of academics. **

**Skills: **

**Basic Academy skills**

**C Rank Taijutsu: Favors counter attacks and defense**

B Rank **Chakra control: Second greatest in class. Able to use most jutsu with minimal smoke and chakra levels. Not entirely natural, gained this skill through training and subtle manipulation of the transformation to mask bruises, cuts, clothing colors, etc. **

**C/B Rank Sensory skills: Unclear, self taught. Unclear if natural or solely self taught. **

**E/D Rank Kenjutsu skills: Clear grasp of fundamentals, minimal speed and strength and accuracy. Integrates Academy Basics into this. **

**C/B Rank Throwing skills: Most advanced in his class, preferring Senbon**

**C/B Rank Genjutsu skill: Not diverse, but capable of casting on a wide range of multiple people or animals through training on Alley Cats. Most advanced skill. Learned the Hell's viewing illusion, used to teach the students to break out of Illusions in academy, by trial and error. **

**Handsigns Unclear Rank **

**C Rank Speed/Strength**

**D Rank Stamina**

**C/B Rank reflexes : Heightened Agility to make up for lesser stamina and physical vulnerability. **

**Overall Rank C****/B: Genin bordering on Chunin. Needs experience and more access to higher skills.**

**Recommendations: Assess for Loyalty and Respect. Test for willingness to kill. Train to be assassin/ANBU? If signs of disloyalty are apparent, redirection shall be attempted. If this cannot be done, Student shall be removed. **

**"Huh... that's why you want me to train him." Raido slowly went through the papers before him, nodding as he passed by each report. "Huh, well he is certainly dedicated. What about his teammates?" Raido asked the Hokage, even as he continued to the rest of the profiles. Ami was next. **

**Ami**

**Civilian Born **

**Age:12**

**Sex:Female**

**Personality: Power and dominance rule her personality. Natural leader, charismatic but abusive if not redirected. Skilled in Psychological abuse, though often neglects own skills in favor of gathering friends or allies. Habitual show off to maintain status.**

**Intelligence : Needs further assessment/ clearly above average. **

**Skills: **

**Basic Academy skills**

**C Rank Taijutsu: Favors upfront attacks and inflicting pain. Tendency to show off. **

D Rank **Chakra control: Average control and core size due to Civilian born heritage. **

**E Rank Sensory skills: Unclear. No sign of Sensory abilities presence. Evaluate?. **

**E Rank Kenjutsu skills: Only bears the basics taught in the academy with a Kunai. **

**D/C Rank Throwing skills: Advanced strength give her power at the cost of accuracy. **

**Botany: After confronatiation with Ino Yamanaka early on in her time at the Academy, Ami dedicated a great deal of time to bolster her understanding of Botany, resulting in a vast appreciation and understanding of Botany and it's uses in the Shinobi World.**

**Handsigns Unclear Rank **

High C** Rank Speed/Strength**

**C Rank Stamina: Physically gifted and athletic body leans her towards high stamina. **

**C Rank reflexes **

**Overall Rank**

**D/C: Genin bordering on Chunin. Needs experience and more access to higher skills. Round out skill set, search for specialty.**

**Recommendations: Assess for Loyalty and Respect, Search for greater motivations. Known to be an Uchiha Fangirl, use this as a potential tool to bolster her loyalty and motivations to train. Integrate her botany knowledge to greater aspect of combat. Assess for Sensory skills. **

** "This Ami girl has high throwing scores and her taijutsu isn't bad at all, poor conduct though, with very low cooperative acceptance. She has potential, that much is clear, but only if she can get over herself... sigh..." His eyes moved on to the next profile, to his last potential student. **

**Kasumi**

**Civilian Born Orphan**

**Age:12**

**Sex:Female**

**Personality: Snobby and superior, intelligent and a clear follower. Known to bully other students under Ami's influence. Massive hatred of the Kyuubi as her family as one of the casualties. Dedicated student, but minor fangirl towards the Uchiha. Her obsession seems more driven to gain prestige and income to ensure a way out of poverty and earn security and to get access to a way to cure genetic illness.**

**Intelligence : Needs further assessment. Top tier of class in terms of academics. Fifth overall **

**Notes of Import : Due to genetic condition, Kasumi wears glasses and is slowly losing her eyesight. Will be entirely gone in no less then three years. Bright lights cause intense headaches. Unclear if other future health concerns will develop. **

**Skills: **

**Basic Academy skills**

D** Rank Taijutsu: Not impressive or specialized in any manner, waning due to waning eyesight. **

C Rank **Chakra control: Higher control for age, but not overly impressive**

**Unclear Rank Sensory skills: Unclear, Evaluate further.**

**E/D Rank Kenjutsu skills: Slightly above average due to higher speed, but unlikely to specialize due to her waning eyesight. **

**C/B Rank Throwing skills. Skills have degraded over time, going from the highest to lower then Mika's own due to waning eyesight.**

**C Rank Genjutsu skill: Able to break out of most academy genjutsu. May have potential here. **

**B Rank Handsigns : Due to waning eyesight, has trained in this ability to ensure her abilty to use jutsu even if she goes blind. **

**C Rank Speed/Strength**

C** Rank Stamina : Above average speed.**

**D Rank reflexes : Waning eyesight had drastically decreased her reflexes, making her movements more erratic and unclear. **

**Overall Rank**

**C/B: Genin bordering on Chunin. Needs experience and more access to higher skills. However with waning eyesight, unless greater measures are included in her training she will be forced to retire early. **

**Recommendations: Assess for Loyalty and Respect. Test for willingness to kill. Redirect into academic aspects of Ninja training?**

**"Kasumi seems bright enough, but also a bully and definitely a follower. Her eyes will be an issue, but she wouldn't be the first blind or disabled Ninja, so with dedication it shouldn't be a huge issue. Sigh... you, like most of the others, I get Two stars and one possible dunce?" He was entirely aware of how judgmental he sounded, but he didn't care. The new generation made his ass hurt. **

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, nodded slowly. " More or less. But remember, there is always a surprise among any group. Those two girls may prove to be incredible ninja, or perhaps become notable in their own way. You never know." His words, though kind, had a hallowness that only Raido seemed to pick up. The other Jonin ate up his crap, as they always did, too moved and amazed with their oh so great leader to see how false he tended to be

'_It is amazing, even Kakashi the oh so perceptive Sharingan Kakashi cannot tell how little the man cares about... anything? No one has the loyalty of everyone...' _Sighing, long and deep, Raido nodded. "I will do my best to ensure they become as skilled as they are able."

"I'd expect nothing less from the captain of my main guard." Sarutobi smiled wisely, one again totally overtaking the room with a collective sense of false fondness.

'_Pathetic... all of them... ' _He fixed, as firmly as he was able, a smile to his face. "Of course, Lord Hokage."

The theme of the room shifted, and the other Jonin oohed and awed over their collective teams. Really, it was nothing special. Raido had seen the all of the current Clan heads rise to power. Their kids, spoiled rotten in this era of peace, were no where near as skilled as their parents... expect, perhaps, the Aburame boy. Shibi wasn't the kind to neglect his son's training just for a simple matter such as an era of peace.

'_How many of those girls are dieting, they are so skinny. I see no calluses on the majority of... well, all of them. No scars, no bruis-wait, that's a genjutsu.' _He smiled, looking at Mika, noticing an ever so subtle warping of space around the boy, like waves of incredibly subtle heat. '_Clever boy, his illusionary work, while simple, are easily chunin level. I wonder what he would do with more chakra and experience. At least my team won't be so boring.'_

Iruka, the obnoxious chunin, gave an awful rousing speech further indoctrinating the innocent Genin, which acted as the Jonins cues. The Third Hokage looked up from his seat and nodded. Without a word, all of the Jonin departed to pick up their genin. Raido, hating anything less then punctuality, made a point of being on time and shushined straight over.

His genin were sitting in a group, with the girls chattering away mournfully about not being on the Uchiha's brat's team. Mika was reading a book, looking oddly awake and aware, his eyes flicking to every single spot where a Jonin was shushining moments before they did. A clear sign of a very skilled Sensor.

'Very good...'

Automatically, the charts on his three genin came into mind, and he felt his headache start to rise.

"Team twenty, come with me." He spoke with a firm voice, making the girls startle. Mika just rose, following his voice with little show of concern or shock. The kid had clearly sensed his arrival, even if he hadn't known that he was their teacher.

**"He seems disinterested." Mika turned, and looked at Kasumi. The girl was a strange sort of beast, with a mass of poofy orange hair and thick glasses. She was always squinting and frowning, with her poofy head stuffed fully up Ami's ass. Still, she was smart enough and could actually be quite a good conversationalist on her own. **

Speaking of Ami, the girl was leading the charge to follow their teacher. The Purple haired bully had changed her hair style from their younger years, keeping her beautiful purple hair in a long braid that reached to her waist. She was all spunk and violence, but a good fighter. "We're not even real genin yet, I don't think we even matter to him yet."

'_Could be worse I suppose. I could have Hinata, Ino, Sakura or Naruto on my team...' _Bracing himself, Mika nodded. "His chakra seems mellow enough, and strong with great density. He is probably pretty strong... " He frowned for a moment, wracking his brain for the man's basic shape. He looked familiar enough and he had definitely sensed his chakra before. "He's one of the Hokage's guards, I think... but I am not sure of who he is. He must have killed all of his enemies, so they never put him in the Bingo book."

Ami and Kasumi, clearly not used to him talking, just stared at him in shock. Ami was obviously the first to speak. "You have a voice after all?"

"Yes, Ami, I do. I just hate everyone, so I don't waste my breathe speaking to them." He enjoyed her sputtering, but knew that she wouldn't challenge him. He was one of the top students, with only Sasuke being considered stronger by most. "But since we are going to be on a team that averages completion in three years, we might as well get along."

The girls huffed, not liking his rudeness.

"Fine." Ami was pouting.

Kasumi, far less confident then her leader, nodded hesitantly. "I'm glad... I think."

"If you kids are done chatting, we are here." Their sensei's voice loudly declared, making them all ( Even Mika) jump. They turned to the man, who was holding open a door to a large classroom. " Pick a seat towards the front. We have a lot to get to today." They obeyed, naturally, and their teacher found himself at the front of the room. " Listen well, I won't repeat myself. My name is Raido Naimiashi. I am the Head of the Hokage Guard. I am thirty One Years old, I have fought in the previous Ninja war and guarded the Fourth Hokage and his wife. My specialties are assassination, posions and kenjutsu. I am sure you at least got that last part what with the massive blacksword on my back." He frowned at them all for a moment, leaving even Mika uncomfortable. " I have red your files and I see potential. To put it bluntly, my goal is make all of you as useful as possible. Most genin fail the second exam, which is what you are in right now. DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" Ami and Kasumi were cowering, and even Mika was sweating just a little from the man's glare. "Yes, there is a second exam. Each Jonin sensei has their own. I won't bother to test your teamwork or physical skills. You couldn't have graduated if they did not add up. No... my test if different, I personally think it is the best. Mine is all about strategy, see if you can learn and adapt, the key to being ninja."

From his vest, the man pulled out three scrolls, tossing one to each student.

"I want you each to go over each scroll. They contain actual records from battles from each war. Memorize them, tomorrow you will come here at six in the morning and you will attack and defend each other in various aspects of each war. I will not tell you which war I will chose from. It could be all of them or even none of them. I would avoid discussing much among yourselves, not if you want to prove your own skills. Again, teamwork does not matter here as you could easily be the other's enemies as much as you could be allies in this example. You are dismissed."

His words were final and he disappeared with a shushin so fast, Mika barely sensed his presence when it reappeared at the Hokage office.

"Well... that was unexpected." He blinked, standing slowly with a long sigh. "Um... do you want to eat something? Like I said, I getting to know you all wouldn't be a bad idea." He smiled, a fake sort of look he borrowed from the Hokage during one of his many, many speeches. '_It would be helpful, either way. Hopefully if I can figure out how they think, I can figure out how to motivate them in battle. Maybe we can play Shogi or go? That couldn't hurt.'_

The oblivious girls nodded, with Ami shrugging. "I never say not to free food. Lead the way!"

* * *

**"... and that is why Naruto graduated." Ami chewed loudly, not bothering to look at her teammates. She could feel them looking at her as she devoured her dumplings. "Or, at least, that's what the rumors I heard said." She shrugged, trying to not to let her nerves show. She was terrified, of course, anxious to get home and scour the damned scroll. **

Kasumi, her only childhood friend she still really talked too, nodded and pushed up her glasses. " Seems about right, he gets away with everything. Makes sense that he would graduate just because he managed to paint the Mountain in daylight. To be fair, he did manage it in an orange jumpsuit without the ability to stick to surfaces. It was kind of impressive, even if it was stupid."

Mika, always the quiet one, nodded slowly while almost reverently chewing a beef dumpling. "I think... I think there was more to it then that. I felt a large swirl of chakra wash over the village yesterday. It was Naruto's... maybe he learned to make another type of clone? I know one of the substitute senseis reported that Naruto had too much chakra for a minor clone jutsu, illusionary jutsu require too little chakra for him to use. Naruto is an Uzumaki, the History books say they often had Water Chakra. Maybe he learned Water clones?" He shrugged. "Maybe Earth clones? That would go with the other rumor, that Naruto passed another type of test."

Ami saw it, once again. She wasn't stupid, she knew full well that Mika liked to hide things from people. Her favorite hobby was people watching... Mika was no exception. He bored her usually, but she did figure out that he was closed off and hide things, only giving five percent of whatever he was feeling. She had figured out, a while ago, what his thoughtful look was. It was an odd sort of twinkle in his eyes, a far away look that softened his stony visage.

He thought there was more to the story, and her intense need for gossip had given her a sixth sense to a potential source of it. She couldn't wait to hear what he figured out... it would be delicious.

"Maybe... maybe his prank showed he had some skill besides whining and making everything harder for all of us and so they let him do another type of test. Not really fair to the rest of us who actually passed because we studied and paid attention, but what do we know?" Kasumi pouted, but like Mika, she had a bad habit of hiding her real emotions deep inside.

Ami saw it easily.

"Maybe, but enough of that loser... Mika, I saw you sparing with Shino yesterday. Wanna spar with me sometime?" She smiled, a clear challenge on her lips as she decided right then that she had to poke the bear. The bear being Mika's emotional constipation.

He shrugged, but the tinniest smirk flickered just briefly on his lips. She knew he was game, and it was on that high note that they finished their meal and departed, each to study the scrolls that just may well be their doom.

* * *

**Chapter End, tell me what you think in the reviews. **

**Not a lot of dialogue, especially early one, but it meant to be a healthy information dump and help me showcase the new characters. Ami and Kasumi were actual characters that bullied Naruto. I wanted them to be fleshed out. There was no need to show the test or even Naruto magically being a ninja, but I can't help but think that would really piss some kids off. Naruto is that kid that, despite being an awful student and a moron, somehow skates by and it would piss people off who actually worked for and at things. **

**Most of Naruto's bashing will be rumor based, but when he is more integrated into the series I will have it be based on his current actions. The series is going to change as the characters I am playing with have effect. Ami's mildly wild inconsistent character is going to be a fun contrast to Mika's rigid behavior. **

**Love, your Ninja Overlord, **

**Mika. **


	3. A Different kind of test

**So I am the opinion that all Bloodlines ( Elemental) can be replicated but in a different way... lesser and less direct. **

**I was going to put Mika on a useless squad... to show him rising from that stupidity to be the best. But I also wanted to show that a good teacher isn't always a good thing... you'll understand later. **

* * *

**"I hope you are all bright eyed and ready for my test!" Raido's cheerful tone made Mika want to reech, it was disgustingly positive especially so early in the Kami damned morning. "Ami, your up first. Your test..." He smirked deviously, a cruel expression only possible on a man who had taken countless lives. "You will be the defending side of the Third Shinobi War." **

The girl in question actually gaped at their teacher. "Def... defending! There wasn't a defending side, it was a mutual conflict! It was the only war that was started by the two sides actually agreeing to fight!"

That just seemed to make Raido happier. "Wonderful, you did pay attention! Let's consider that a smaller test. No, your actual side will be the Leaf during the battle that made the Yellow Flash so famous. Set the stage for us all, then make your plan based on the knowledge you studied. What would you do? Mika, you will be Rock. You only have what is in the records. Begin."

Shaking and sweaty despite her annoyingly vast confidence, Ami had to take a moment to center herself ( though she hid it with a few smirks, fist pumps and mumbling) before she managed to speak up.

"Alright. The Battle was in the Rocks of Iza, named after a powerful Jonin who converted and became a Ninja Monk after the First Shinobi War. The Tsuchikage, in an act of defiance, sent a thousand shinobi of various skill levels of to attack the Leaf as a final strike. He was attempting to defy the request for peace and treaty cast by every other village that had a part in the war, including our village. Six Hundred Genin, Three Hundred Chunin and One Hundred Jonin. Among the collective was Cho of the Silver Scale, elder son of the Tsuchikage, an S Rank Shinobi gifted with Earth, Fire and Water Release and a talent for Lava release that made him remarkably dangerous. I couldn't find any records of any other shinobi, but the records you gave us did mention that Rock Ninja tend to favor Earth release with Fire and Water being tied for second. They also tend to have at least one Lava user per three hundred normal shinobi, but your scrolls also said that their style of Lava style wasn't a bloodline and was actually a secret technique, a deviation of the Dust Release that the Tsuchikage possessed and actually took on the form of Rubber and sludge instead of raw lava.

Poison users are rare because of the preference for direct Taijutsu being common place in the Land of Earth. However there was a clan that was powerful and mighty, that used poisons. The Kamizurus, a bee wielding clan, was a total rival of the Aburame clan. They were pretty scary, and they had a fine mastery of Earth Shaping techniques, usually to make hives or to speed up the process of Honey production for their Bees."

The poor girl was practically panting here, and so Mika took over.

"On the Leaf side of things, the resistance had a force of three hundred. Fifty Aburame, including the current clan head Shibi. One Hundred generic chunin and genin, the records you gave were fuzzy on that end of things." He didn't say, of course, that there was probably a not so good reason for that. Any dip or deviation in the record essentially meant that someone didn't want them seeing the details. Or so he assumed. "The rest were Jonin apparently, but again the details are not overly accurate. I do know that Kakashi Hatake was there, as was Might Guy. Your records say that Kakashi is a general practitioner with a Sharingan, and that at that time his powers put him closer to S rank. He has skills in all fields, with a slight leaning towards Ninjutsu despite his low Chakra levels. Might Guy however has massive chakra levels, with a preference for taijutsu and something called the Eight Inner Gates technique... that... well, I know what the Eight Inner gates are. They mention them in the Academy tomes, but I also read about them in Advanced History as being tied to enlightenment. All I know is that it is incredibly dangerous and powerful, it is considered a Kinjutsu.

Minato Namikaze did not show up onto the battle field for at least six hours and then he wiped out a full thousand Shinobi in a single moment with his technique... which doesn't make sense since six hours of combat should have resulted in at least one death on for Rock..." He drifted off for a moment, absently realizing there were actually quiet a few issues with the records.

_'Why send such a small force to combat the Thousand Shinobi... actually, how in Kami's name could they have known it was exactly a thousand? Ami and the scrolls said that the war was started mutually, but if History is written by the winners of a conflict, how much of that is true? How much of any of it is or was accurate...'_ his eyes widened. _'The Hokage title was won because of that day... what if... what if that was the point. A Show of strength, a pissing contest to prove the power of the Soon to be Fourth? I mean his competitor was Orochimaru, my personal role model. A man considered a genius seen only ones in a century. A man who had decades to really prove himself... hmm I really, really need to look into this. Later, of course... but definitely.'_

**Raido couldn't help but feel a swirl of pride rise from within him. '_Someone actually noticed it... I cannot believe people buy that story about Minato killing a thousand Shinobi with a single Technique. That doesn't even make sense, especially with the Flying ThunderGod Jutsu requiring anchors to go anywhere and having so many anchors would have actually made it hard to focus. Hell, there was no way he could make that many anchors, even with Sage mode. Pity I am unable to admit it entirely to the kids, thankfully however, in order to pass my test they all need to figure it out.' _Turning a subtle gaze to Ami and Kasumi. '_Kasumi is a gossip, she probably noticed it before even Mika did. She's used to seeing the worst in others. Ami might be a little slower, she is more about conflict and surface issues. If anyone won't notice it, it would be her.' _**

Kasumi was actually bitting her knuckle, a clear nervous or meditative habit. "Um... Sensei, how do we go about the actual battle? I mean we know the accounts and how it went down, so what do we do from here?"

"Oh, that's easy. Mika, without changing your goals of destroying or at least maiming the Leaf and without changing the make up of your legion, what would you do differently?"

The boy blinked slowly, before proving his intelligence and sense of strategy. "Um... well... I'd have at squadron of at least fifty people create mud or earth clones, leaving them above ground while the real ones trailed away to look for incoming enemies. The Fourth Hokage was said to be a powerful sensor, so I am assuming he would find them first... so I guess I'd send a few Kamizuru since the records said they can jam sensory powers with their bugs, much as the Aburame can. Anyway, I'd get a good lay of the land and those coming towards me. From there, I'd back them into the larger legion, creating all sorts of devious traps on the way back. Anything from merely inconveniencing the Leaf Ninjas, to actually killing them, to maiming and slowing them down. Honey patches mixed with mud, holes with spikes, paper bombs and landmines... you get the idea. The goal would be to thin the ranks and slow them down. While this is happening, I would have sent a messenger back to the Legion and have them create traps within the legion itself, so that when the Fourth does his signature tactic of tossing and replicating his special Kunai, he would only screw himself or be unable to harm our people.

I'd probably hid at least two hundred people a mile away on either side, so they could go around and trap the Leaf Ninja's retreat. I would have them make traps underground and lead the Leaf Ninjas to where Earth Jutsu users have the biggest advantage. Hmm... I would have to deal with the Aburame, so... Fire users, I'd have them and my Water users creating masses of steam in underground pools. When the ground is destroyed, the steam would kill the beetles or at least render them unable to fly so they'd be unable to suck our chakra.

For Kakashi, I'd have anyone that specialized in stealth and fighting in the dark. They would create a flurry of earth, a cloud of thick dust to block his sharingan and make it easier to kill him in the dark. I would also try to have a few Kamizuru slip in as well, their bees would be able to poison him, ideally, or at least act as fodder...I guess I would also have a medic on standby to remove his eye for our usage.

As for Gai... I'm a little stumped there. His speed is off the charts here... I guess I'd outsmart him. Honey and Mud patches to slow him down, weight him down with the weighted bolder jutsu if possible... or Make him lighter. He'd be faster but weaker, so he would be less of a threat all together. If he's slower, we could put seals on him or have him be stung by bees. The Honey traps or sludge or rubber traps would be helpful... and the Rubber could absorb the impact of his assults and keep him contained?

The Hardest is the Fourth, but if he is so far behind, I guess making traps and hiding our men... maybe have Medics stealing and healing people so that I can fight with fresher men. Do you remember when I mentioned the clones above and real people below, same concept, but let the Fourth wail on the clones and tire. Even he would be unable to handle the strain of his jutsu for that long. He was only human... I guess it would be a good idea to use the rubber techniques to slow him down, even if slightly. Hopefully we could have time to make the traps but time isn't always on anyone's side...

Also the records you gave us did say that it had been a dry season, so the earth would be harder to mold, but it would also make fire jutsu stronger, thus it would be a good idea to set up defenses from the fire jutsu I am sure were being tossed about since that is the strength of the Leaf Village. It would be smart to set up smoke traps, anything that would react negatively to the fire jutsu, but only is certain areas as to not blind the main force...

Basically, I would have actually prepared. From what the records state, Rock was not very prepared. They went off half cocked and took absolutely nothing into consideration. Not the environment, skill, people who could possibly find them...none of it. Even with the utter legends among the retaliatory forces, they would have had no chance if the Rock had actually prepared."

Utter silence filled the room, and Raido was unable to hide his smile. "That, right there... sigh... Kasumi, how would you have retaliated? Knowing that Rock did everything Mika just suggested, how would you have undone it."

The poor girl practically jumped in shock, but she frowned and pulled out a scroll. "Um... you didn't say we couldn't make notes... uh... okay... Well..." She had to take in a very deep breath, but she managed to squeeze out her next words despite her shaking. " First off... I... I couldn't. I couldn't have undone anything, no one could have. I would just minimize the damage. Fifty deaths are better then the full three hundred. I would have had the Fourth scout ahead with this Kakashi person, they are fast and stealthy according the records you gave us. Your reports say that the Fourth could move past a sensor undetected, so I would have him sneak into their camp and..." She turned pale, shaking and turned away with an immeasurably ashamed look, one he understood all to well. It was common place for Rookies when they had to discuss or commit darker deeds. "I would have had him poison their food supplies. They would have to be eating around large fires at some point, so while they are preparing their meals, he could poisons them. Paralytics, Laxatives... stuff like that. Slow them down, weaken them and kill them outright in some cases. Make sure they are not at full speed."

Pride and pain wared in Raido's chest but before he could end the test, and reassure the kid as she needed, the Ami girl stood up excited.

"OH! The records said that there were Kurama ninja in the battle! They may be known for genjutsu, but they are also known for poisons and the subtle arts of being shinobi! They could supply everything! And the Fourth was an amazing sealer, right? I mean that was how his Flying Thunder God worked, right?

Mika, for once, looked excited and actually smirked. "He was. He could decimate them by placing all sorts of seals, seals to explode or release weaponry. Poison gases or even gravity seals. He could add a condenser seal, the one they use during construction around here, to make the ground hard to be used for Jutsu. The Earth was already hardened because of the drought, so he wouldn't have needed to pump in a lot of chakra for it to work!"

Raido clapped, slow and long and proud. "That... that right there was the point of my test. So many ninja rely on their blessings, the power of their bodies and bloodlines. They neglect tactics and strategy and conservation. They neglect their teamwork and focus on pride. What you kids just did, coming together and worming out all of the genuine issues presented by the battle and the poor strategy, while also focusing on conserving lives... that is what I require to pass." In a very Un Raido like moment, the man pulled them each into a brief hug. "Mika, you are by far the best strategist I have ever seen, at least for your age. Even among the Nara. You are methodical and acknowledge every factor, but also are aware that there are things that one can never control. That being said, everything is crystal clear in hindsight. It wasn't a surprised that they attacked, but it was a surprise them they did it. People assumed that they had more forces elsewhere, that this was a distraction. That was why the Fourth was Late..."A wave of shame at that lie hit Raido hard, but he barreled on. " he was circling around, looking for any and all other ninjas that may be sweeping to attack the Village. No one expected such an upfront tactic.

Ami, you are wiser then you realize, but I could tell that you were repeating what you read and didn't offer as much input. That isn't a bad thing, when you listened to your peers, you were able to offer a remarkable insight. Not everyone soldier or leader needs to always been speaking, listening is a power all on it's own.

Kasumi... I am sorry. I know this isn't an easy topic, but... honestly that is your profession. Murder is what we do, it is our bread and butter. I have killed nearly a thousand people on my own... "He shook a little on his own, and let out a great shame that he needed them to understand. "Including villagers."

**Smugness almost overtook Mika, the compliment was exactly what he needed and wanted to hear. '_Hindsight... sigh... people are stupid.' _Still, he couldn't disagree. It was a slight to his ego, one he didn't enjoy, but it did make it easier to listen to the man's admittance and then Ami's gasp. "Traitors, I presume?" **

Raido nodded, sighing. "I guard the Hokage… and despite what you all may hear, Lord Third is not the most popular. Many people have issues with him, and many have attempted assassinations. That is the last lesson for today... your serve your village and your Kage, not any one person other. People are so consumed by other issues, for family, prestige and so on... what they fight for is not the same as what you fight for. Their drive can shift their loyalty and make any friend a terrible foe. That is how Rock lost that battle. Several of their own gave us intel hours in advanced. They live here, in the village, in return for their service. Had we not had that, we would have perished. In nearly all cases, it is the enemies inside of our village are the greatest threats... not anyone outside. So keep that, and all of my other lessons in mind... that and that alone will help you thrive as Shinobi."

His words were solemn, and even Mika was moved by them.

Then the man's cheerful smile returned. "On that happy note, welcome to Shinobi life! We will be training on a different schedule then any of the others. I have to guard the Hokage three days a week, so you will use those days as self study and group sparing. I will be assessing your physical abilities a little on my own, as you are a Guard Squad and that means you have to have a different set of talents them most ninja. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I expect you at training field fourteen at six in the morning. Bring a nutritious lunch and snack, you will be training until sundown. Oh and our missions will not start for at least a fortnight, so you will all be given compensation so that you do not starve. Now... was there anything else... oh, come here tomorrow around eight for your paper work and id photos and so on. Any questions? No? Dismissed!"

A little stunned as the older man vanished, Mika sat with his teammates, an odd feeling of solidarity among them.

"We did it... we did it!" Ami screamed, pumping her fist into the air. Kasumi squeaked, looking utterly excited and exhausted.

He didn't fight the hug Ami forced them all into, smiling a little.

"Yeah... I guess we did." He looked at his teammates. '_Maybe that are going to be more useful then I thought. Kami, I hope so. I do not want to be burdened with a bad team, even if I don't plan to be a genin for more then a year.'_

* * *

**Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews. **

**This was fun to write, exhausting, but fun! I love writing Mika and I love redoing this. I was going to put him on a useless team and show him all self study, but... honestly, I wanted to showcase a good teacher. Raido was chosen for a very, very specific reason... that will become apparent soon. That is actually why I decided to go with a good teacher, that and wanting a good teacher as a contrast.**

**Love, your Ninja Overlord, **

**Mika. **


	4. Mornings

**How is the Nara being Lazy thing canon when only Shikamaru did that? His dad was uber involved in the village and kind of awesome. Shika was a waste of space more often then not. **

* * *

Excitement and tension made sleep almost impossible for the only male member of team twenty, thus he only managed about two hours of sleep. Exhaustion was held off only by his excitement, and slowly he managed to respond to his alarm. "Yawn... tired." Smacking his lips, he sat up in bed, letting the sheets fall to his waist. Even in the pitch black room, his ridiculously pale skin almost glowed. "Why do I need to be up again... oh that's right, I have to function around other people. Affording food is a wonderful thing." Slowly he slipped out of bed, using the motion to stretch upwards, cracking his joints.

Clasping his hands, his reached up as far as he could, twisting his palms upward for a count of fifteen. Twisting on his heel, he turned and lifted his left leg and pushed his hands towards the floor. Fifteen seconds later he twist his waist and made his leg and body level, standing on the tips of one toe. The soft burn of his straining muscles did more to wake him up then any cup of tea.

Thirty minutes of Yoga Later and he found himself in the shower for a quick rise. The bare white tile of his bathroom a reminder of his poverty, more then half were cracked and bared the scratches he himself had made in an attempt to remove the mold once covering them. Pride warmed him, knowing that like with most aspects of his life, those scratches were proof of his own involvement and effort.

Twenty more minutes later and he was sitting in his kitchen, a bowl of rice and eggs filling his belly along side a delicious glass of tea. In between his food was a scroll, one of many he had taken from the library. It wasn't anything special, just a discussion on revisionist history and the clan wars. He had read similar texts in the past, but it was familiar and simple and made for good morning reading. He enjoyed warming his brain up with something early on in the morning, it just made functioning easier.

Soon enough, it was time to leave.

After doing his dishes and putting away his scroll in his vest pocket, Mika one last look in the mirror. He was proud of what he saw, of the image others would see. He was by no means tall, standing at four feet tall with a short head of curly brown hair that did little to add to his height. He had blue eyes, a rarity in their village, and red lips. Those traits, mixed with his high cheek bones, made him look like a doll or a porcelain mask they sold during the Kyuubi festival. He was adorable and that was totally at odds with his outfit.

A pair of Anbu pants, taped to his ankles that led to special order ninja sandals ( His feet were too small to fit in proper sandals) with four pouches attached. One on each thigh, one on his left calf and a fanny pack. Overprepared by many measures he was sure, but he wasn't taking any risks. Overconfidence was the biggest killer of shinobi, he had no intentions of becoming a statistic.

Under his top shirt was a basic thin body armor that stuck out in long sleeves. Over that was a thin black shirt and then a grey vest not entirely unlike a chunin vest, only without any clan sigils. His arms were also bandaged from the shoulder down, masking any trace of skin, mostly in hopes of lessening any potential bruising when in combat.

Across his back, his tanto lay snug in it's sheath, just a little awkward in it's weight. It gave him a sense of comfort and pride, seeing the accumulation of his efforts. Especially when topped off by his headband, which he wrapped around his left arm ( even if the sight of such an uneven pattern drove him to slight madness). He refused to have the thing around his neck or forehead, he didn't want it to be that obvious that he was a Leaf Ninja.

Satisfied and comfortable, Mika quickly left his apartment, making haste as he jogged to the library. Now that he was finally a shinobi he could pull out more advanced scrolls. He still had two hours until he had to be at the academy for his paper work and photo id, he had time to kill.

* * *

"So tired..." Groaned, half tangled and dangling from her sheets, Ami slowly managed to shake herself loose only to smack her head off of her wall, making her curse a little. "Why is everything so active before noon!" Tossing off her remaining clothes, Ami all but tackled her dresser, dressing herself fully and sprinting to her living room, only to freeze as a horrible stench smacked into her. "Drunk again..." Sighing, Ami looked at her parents, sprawling on the couch. "Of course you are."

Stomach rumbling, Ami quickly walked over to her fridge. Kneeling, she reached to the back and then pushed further, moving her hand past the false fabric background masking her food.

"My supply is getting low, damn it... I need to see if they still have say over my money." Grabbing a bento box and a pack of dumplings, she turned on heel and shot out of her house. Thank Kami, her parents were too drunk to even notice.

_'Not that they'd care about me anyway, just be pissed that I was hoarding food that they couldn't eat or sell.' _Sighing low, Ami shot onto the rooftops, not wanting to be around anyone. '_Stuff like this will never happen when I become Mrs. Uchiha. I will have food, all of the food I could ever want. I could even get fat if I wanted too! No Sake though.. No Sake.'_

She felt no rush to get to the academy, she woke an hour early, always did. It made it easier to avoid her parents.

She wouldn't let them ruin her first day as a Ninja.

_'The cheapest apartment I found was five hundred a month for a single, seven hundred for a double. I'm sure Kasumi will split with me...' _

* * *

_'Ow... why are you so bright?'_ Groaning loudly at the stupid sun, Kasumi turned away, rubbing her eyes in a desperate attempt to stem the burning. "Where are my eyedrops." Blind and blurry, she stumbled forward, praying her memory was enough. Thankfully she hadn't left another scroll on the floor, that only took her about fifty four falls to figure out. '_Better then the time I left my kunai pouch on the floor.'_

Shuddering from that lovely memory, Kasumi landed in her bathroom, slowly moving her hands around her skin until she grasped the vial.

"Ah, relief!"

It was not possible to drip the medicine onto her eyes quick enough and when she did the sheer beauty of the world, of being able to see made her eyes water for an entirely separate reason. Nearly thirty minutes passed before her headache started to fade and until then she was forced to dress and eat without her glasses. A frustrating task that ended with her accidentally punching herself in the face...

Twice.

Still, even her normal irritation was unable to stop her enthusiasm and Kasumi practically sprinted to the Academy, half an hour early, eager and excited to finally become a ninja!

"Ami! Mika!" The girl barreled forth, only to freeze in fear as HE was sitting next to Mika. "Ahhhahahhh… Shino. " She whispered out, feeling her skin crawl as the bug boy turned and nodded to her. He was sitting close to Mika, as he usually did, the two shoulder to shoulder. Ami was sitting near them and from the look on her face, she had been rather engrossed in a very good conversation.

Shino, clasping something, turned to her. "Hello, Kasumi. I heard that you were a valuable asset to your team during your genin exam. Congratulations are in order."

For whatever reason, Mika actually smiled proudly here. He gave Shino a look, one she didn't entirely understand. "What was your test like? Ours was a war game, essentially. Your team is all about tracking, so while I have a few guesses, I know next to nothing about Kurenai other then her rumored genjutsu abilities."

The bug boy frowned, raising his hands to sip on the tea ( that was what he was clasping it seemed). "Not a rumor, she is a monster. Apparently, according to my mother, Kurenai's raw talent and skill for genjutsu is comparable to any member of the Uchiha or Kurama clan bar bloodlines, and in some cases apparently she is actually better. She used them on us, scattering our team by isolating our senses. We each had to find her over the course of five hours. It was hard, we barely passed, but apparently that is above average for our current experience.

Hinata panicked frequently, tripping over vegetation and her own feet, which provided the sound I needed to return. Kiba actually did the best, his ears are almost as strong as his nose, and he has a great sense of direction due to his unique combat style. It was not an enjoyable experience, but one we needed. It revealed many struggles we may posses down the line."

Still weirded out, Kasumi sat away from the others. "Why would they make a team of all tracker type shinobi? Are they not the highest in terms of shinobi death?" She bit her lip, a hundred calculations and statistics from her studies coming to mind. "Sixteen percent of all shinobi deaths are from tracking centered teams due to a lack of combat experience and skill."

"Tradition, more then likely." Shino shrugged his shoulders, looking a little annoyed, hopefully not with her. "Our parents and clans are known to work together well due to our skills, which is also why Team Ten is another InoShikaCho. That we barely spoke throughout our time in the Academy is irrelevant." Finishing his tea, Shino stood. "We should go in. They are probably willing to begin early. We have today off after we get our photos. Father has some new mutations he wishes for me to monitor with him."

_"Oh no, I made him mad!" _Images, horrible visions, of bugs swarming her precious body flooded her brain, forcing Ami to all but drag her inside after the two boys.

**"I'm glad you passed." Mika nudged Shino, getting the boy to nod in return. " It is nice to know that there is at least one useful member of my generation in the military with me." A memory made him pause. "Well, Ami and Kasumi might be useful, who knows? But the rest of our class, I doubt it."**

"Be fair, Sasuke is powerful and Ino can be quite talented when she puts her mind to it. She was Kunoichi of the Year for a reason. Shikamaru is actually quite smart, but rarely shows it. Father says that this is a Nara trait, a confusing enough statement since I know many Nara's and none of them are like that. Not even his father, who I know rather well."

"Hmm... I'm not sure, but to be honest I have heard that each of the clans is like that. Certain... traits and quirks are common. Temperamental Inuzuka's, food obsessed Akamichi's, Vegenful Uchiha's... you get the idea."

"I do. I do believe this is the door." He stopped, waiting for the girls to catch up. "Is Kasumi still afraid of me?"

Unable to stop his snickers, Mika nodded. " Yup, her chakra is like fireworks right now. It will keep be smiling for the rest of the hour. Wanna spar... say... around three?"

A smile made it's way to Shino's face, but only for a moment. "If I can finish with my father early. Now that you are a ninja, I can invite you to train on our grounds. Come around and we will see. Regardless I could give you a tour. I know you've been wanting to see the nests."

"Sounds lovely... " Mika just barely stopped from smiling, beyond excited to see the nests. One of the greatest mysteries in the village from one of their most useful and powerful clans, a clan that actually earned their power. A Clan who's heir had kicked his ass more then a dozen times in combat. It was beyond exciting. "See you then, my friend... oh, I got some interesting scrolls by the way. More advanced Genjutsu theory and another sword style. I'll bring them."

Both boys smirked.

"Perfect."

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**Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews. **

**I want to write this in Arcs, so right now we are in the Intro arc and will move on before the first C Rank arc. I am going with episode feeling chapters... or at least that is the theory.**

**This was fun to write, it really was. Simple but a nice fleshing out of each of the characters and a little Shino action. **

**Love, your Ninja Overlord, **

**Mika. **


	5. Being a Ninja is hard

**If you have read SIPA, look out as down the line I would like to write a story vaguely similar to that... **

* * *

"Are you okay, Mika?" Raido barely hid a smirk, the poor boy was somehow even paler then he usually was. A haunted look echoed in his eyes, one Raido knew all too well. "Anything traumatic or particularly terrifying?" Ami and Kasumi looked horrified at his words, not knowing or noticing the clear urge to explode into laughter.

Slowly, the boy nodded. "I... I met Might Gai. I thought Uzumaki was loud, but this man... how can someone be so powerful, so skilled and still act like an overgrown toddler on crack?" He shivered. " He hugged a clone or something, I couldn't break out of the genjutsu. I am great with genjutsu… what the hell was it?"

Unable to stop himself, Raido laughed and laughed, soaking in the boy's misery and the girls' shock. "Oh, that is precious... trust me kid, that wasn't a genjutsu. Not really. Have you ever heard of Killing intent?" The boy nodded slowly, something the girls echoed. "Basically the same thing, only pure passion. It is actually really rare, a form of Yin release, but that is incredibly advanced so we are going to work on that later. Now, shall we get started on your testing?" Again the kids nodded, and so Raido made a dramatic gesture to the field behind him. "As you can see, I have been busy. Each piece of equipment is designed to test your various skills, abilities and talents. I want to really get a full measure of your physical abilites, to see what you are all capable of. Now, I am only one man, so you are going to work at stations. Ami, go to the first station, over there by the trees. I want you to take a test. No, you are not really be graded, it is more of an evaluation."

The girl, grumpy and frumpy, trotted over to the other station, plopping her butt down and began to pull out the various scrolls and books. Her irritation was amuing, but more then anyhting he was impressed with her obedience.

"Kasumi, you are going to watch me spar with Mika, I want you to make a mental note of everything you see. Flaws in combat, assumptions of skill, measurements of strength... you get the idea. No chakra is to be used Mika, only taijutsu. I want you to take the offensive, I need to understand your physical abiliteis." He smirked at the boy's slight shiver of genuine fear. " This is going to be the easy day, after I get your skill assesment done, i will be testing your strength, stamina, etc, etc. I just don't want you to be to sore to show your skills."

Needless to say, every single one of his adorable genin gulped in genuine fear. Regardless, Kasumi sat herself comfortably on a tree branch and Mika stood before him, waiting patiently though not without a measure of his fear clear in his eyes. It was perfect for Raido, and made it far too easy to ignore the sensation of his clone shooting across the woods behind the kids, masking it's chakra effortlessly so it could fulfil the mission he had assigned it.

'_The reports declared his physical strength weak and that he had a penchant for counter attacks... more then likely he will attempt to conserve his energy, a wise tactic but not one always prudent. Let's see that side of him, and then see what he can do with a proper challenge. From what I have read, I doubt the boy is used to having a full challenge.'_

Raido charged and the boy followed suit.

**Kasumi flinched when Mika charged Raido, it seemed suicidal. The man was a jonin for crying outloud, and Mika was a genin, a fresh genin like she was! He moved at high speeds, but Raido didn't seem very impressed. He just dodged Mika's stomach punch, turning gracefully away when the boy used the over extention to roll away and leap back up to deliver a harsh kick she almost heard. **

Again, Raido dodged rather easily, not even attempting to block Mika's apparently not so impressive attacks.

"Huh... your speed is advanced for your age, but honestly your taijutsu is... average." Sighing, the Man in question lashed out with an almost bored kid, clipping Mika chest with heel and sending him hurtling away in an awkward tumble that only ended when he smashed into a tree.

Eyes bulging and gasping, Mika struggled to stand.

_'He's one of the fastest in the class and he's getting destroyed!'_ Horrified, Kasumi flinched once more when Raido started snapping at her, reminding her of her task. '_Right, Right... I need to evaluate his combat ability... okay, average taijutsu and high speed... what else...' _Focusing hard, Kasumi watched Mika flip up the tree, using the height to leverage a strong axe kick... '_He's crooked, and his ankle is shaking. He probably hurt it at some point or maybe he just has weak ankles.' _Her eyes continued to trace Mika's every movement, and much to her amazement, there was actually a lot wrong with his movements. '_He's too small to really use the academy taijutsu, it doesn't take into account his small hands and reach. Both of his ankles are weak, and he can't swing with enough force to make it useful on someone strong like Raido Sensei!' _

"Stop watching Ami." A Loud thud made Kasumi shriek just a little as a kunai appeared over Ami's head, said teammate just and shook with a blush. Around her, the pencil had rolled away and settled a few feet away where as her scroll was mostly undone. Not that Kasumi really got the chance to judge, what with the Kunai that appeared next to her cheek. "Focus on your assigned task!"

Raido's apparent distraction did not even slightly give Mika an advantage...

And Kasumi knew they were screwed if they ever, ever attempted to defect...

**Mika ached, slipping to his knee after another hard punch to his solar plexus. Stars and black spots danced across his vision adding to the shitshow that was his severe asswhooping. Everything in his body ached, making focus hard, as it was his sensory abilities were having trouble picking up Raido's movements, let alone Ami and Kasumi. _'I've never been beaten up so bad that I can't sense properly... actually it's usually only when I'm fighting Shino or...' _**

Eyes wide, Mika shifted his focus on his pain, following a line around his body.

_'I shouldn't be hurting this bad, he's barely hit me at all! It doesn't make sense unless something is augmenting my pain... it's not a genjutsu...' _Knowing, and fearing, that Raido would decide to be a bigger prick if he stopped fighting, Mika flipped back into the tree, using a chakra enchanced kick to knock off a branch... only for the branch to break unevenly, twisted like it was freshly grown instead of old and dried from the recent lack of rain. Armed, he flipped over to the man, slamming the branch low, and Raido actually caught it, confirming Mika's suspicions.

Killing intent flooded the glade, a horrifyingly angry expression crossed Radio's face. "I thought I said no weapons."

"I...I..." Dry mouthed and terrified, Mika looked his teacher square in the eye. "And I thought poisons were considered weapons?" Shivering, he turned inward. _'Please be right, please be right, please be right!'_

The Killer intent tripled, images of his death filled his brain... and then they stopped, Raido laughing loudly. "When d'you figure it out?" The girls gasped, but oddly enough Ami's sounded more worried then confused. He could slightly feel them approach him, though it felt like they were drunkly stumbling.

Collapsing, Mika let the pain roll over him. "Everything hurts but you barely got a hit in... my sensory abilities were not working... and my chakra is wonky." Groaning, he fell back entirely, eyes rolling in the back of his head. "What did you hit me with?"

"Probably a variation of a neurotoxin, their common with hunter Ninjas, interrogation specialists and assassins." Firm and strong, Ami spoke up. "I've been studying poisons for a while... this one has lavender in it. Most of them do, their masked in perfumes... actually they tend to be used by wet works assassinations because you inhale it.'

'_Shit... of course... My sense of smell is garbage. I still can't tell the difference in flowers, they all smell like wet grass to me.' _Concerned and annoyed at this pretty potent flaw, Mika shifted his focus onto the girls. "And they weren't affected because they weren't fighting and getting their blood pumping, like you would in a wetworks mission?"

"Something like that... and it will pass. I only let out a little... but there is a reason I did." Serious, there was a pause in Raido's voice in time with a thump. Mika assumed the man sat down or fell to his knees. "Simply put, I needed to test your ability to follow orders, adapt and be observant... missions requires a perfect mix of these things. Yes you will have your mission and you must be dedicated to that... you cannot allow yourself to be distracted so easily like you were Ami. You, at one point, stopped writing and ever dropped your pen. If that was a Kunai you would be a dead women.

Kasumi, you were focusing entirely on Mika, on each movement like I asked you to be, but you never noticed that he was slowing down. The poison made him considerably slower, it was noticeable. He has one of the highest taijutsu ratings in your class, his speed allowed for him to compensate for his size and weakness. It would have made it easier for you and I to note the mistakes in his form, as I am sure you did note them, but that he was suddenly so much slower should have been something you noted. You have to look out for your teammates...

Mika, you adapted alright, but you gave your hand away far too soon. In an actual fight I could have killed you in seconds, I am hundreds of times stronger and more skilled then you are at this point. Escape would have been the wiser option, luring me in the woods, even with your slower body, would have given you an advantage... at least enough to compensate for the decreased speed. Attacking me head on with the club was... odd... I'm not entirely sure why you did that?"

Groaning, not in the mood to answer questions, Mika managed to sit up and fix a glare at his sensei. "I needed to test my control, which I did. I could barely break the branch... but I also wanted to test what was wrong, I mean speed or coordination. I was accurate but you didn't even flinch. I may not be a powerhouse but sharp pain is sharp pain. You didn't even flinch, and there was almost no sound when it hit you... really it was mostly conjecture but hey... it worked." Frowning, Mika turned to the woods. " Your an assassin, you are trained to kill in small spaces and in the dark... the woods would have been suicidal, even if there was more cover. I am not trained to fight in there, even with my sensory abilities."

Raido smiled proudly. "Fair point...ha... anyway, the last part of my spiel is thusly... teamwork. You have to be a unit, one group, if you ever intend to live. It is our ability to do this that has allowed us to flourish in the century of our villages creation. It is what sparked what we are. If you can help each other, if you can ensure the success of your fellow comrades then do it. Ami, you clearly realized the poison was affecting him you should have said something, yes, even after I threw the Kunai at you. Kasumi, you should have kept a cursory glance on Ami to jolt her into contuing her work. Mika, you should have attempted to block the kunai. You were fighting me but never bothered to stop me from throwing them, if this were a mission you would be seen as unreliable and that will destroy teamwork and missions success... Now, Kasumi, what did you figure out from watching Mika?"

The shy girl flinched a little, but then started to talk. "He has weak ankles... and he over extends a lot... I think the academy taijutsu is a bad idea for him. He's too small to really use it effectively."

_'Yeah... definitely not useless... I never even considered that...' _Blinking, Mika stared at his teammate and felt more then a notion of hope for their team.

* * *

**"Hmm... rather bare... " **

Smiling, Raido's clone took a step in Mika's apartment after easily picking the lock.

He had a mission, a simple one really. Information gathering on a more personal level. Anything he could get to figure out his students more fully. The better to teach them with.

_'The better to make them loyal like the Hokage demanded... No matter how many rights it actually violated... such was the life of a shinobi.'_

Sighing at the cynicism that came with being close to a person in power, Raido shunted off his emotions and continued to violate the privacy of another orphan.

* * *

**Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews. **

**This was fun, and I am happy with what this will become. **

**Not everyone is always loyal or happy with the Hokage. I like the idea of exploring how other people might see stuff like this...**

**Love, your Ninja Overlord, **

**Mika. **


	6. Lessons on the Future

I remembered my old lessons... find an ending and build your story... so hopefully these will be getting longer now. I changed some of the potential ending and I really like what I came up with.

* * *

The Rest of the week with Raido sensei passed quickly and slowly as he brutally abused his poor innocent genin. Ami was personally covered in bruises, having a skill for taijutsu and the greatest raw strength meant she was required to constantly train and test it much to her poor body's suffering. She was pretty sure that her muscles were melting inside but it was worth it. She had never really felt challenged by the academy which left her with far too much time on her hands.

Idle hands and Ami did not mix...

'Probably would have done much better if it wasn't so boring.' She often found herself thinking, usually while running or getting her body pounded by Raido's merciless fists and feet. She learned a lot about herself in that week, mostly that she was definitely a hands on learner. Having every one of her major flaws pointed out and all of her minors ones as well forced her to do just that, learn or die. It was also apparent to her that she was actually really smart, in her own way, as she was making progress fast.

Of course you could only do so much in a week...

Kasumi's struggles proved that. The girl's aim had actually gotten worse, much to her irritation, especially during their group exercises when Raido had them playing chicken with the top person tossing blunted kunai at whomever was not one of the chicken people. You could only move a step for every accurate throw and poor Kasumi only got one out of every six throws, forcing her to continue to carry the girl on her shoulders for hours until they reached the finish line... Mika was a dick during those games, pegging them with their inaccurate kunai, a favor Ami returned whenever she played the attacker position.

It was frustrating and more then once, Ami bellowed at Kasumi for her mistakes, something the other girl did not take well...

Especially the last time... especially this time.

"Damn it, keep him at bay!" Bellowing and exhausted, the warmth of Kasumi's crotch burned into Ami's neck. "I can't keep standing with your on my head!" Shaking and weak, the pain radiated towards her butt as Kasumi adjusted her throwing arm. It was an intense pain, but the worst part was in heat radiating down to her lungs. Heaving in agony, her neck in a permanent crick because of the consistent weight. "Aim for his torso, it's the biggest part of the body."

"I'm trying but your shaking too much."

And they both knew that she wasn't... not that it mattered as two Kunai shot through the brush of the wood and slammed into arms, a horrible searing dull pain that shot through to her fingertips.

"ENOUGH!" Tired and done, Ami flexed her entire body and tossed Kasumi off. "Why are you so bad at this? We've been doing this for a week and your only getting worse! Kami!" Shaking, she reached back rubbed her poor aching neck, the mere touch of which ached. 'Why is it still warm!' Her fingers twitched as her aching muscles radiated more and more heat, it was almost hard to breathe even at this point.

Poor Kasumi turned away, her eyes filled with tears of frustration. "I'm trying but... I... my eyes... are getting worse."

"What's worse?/I forgot..." Mika, who flew out of the woods with a genuinely caring look, and Ami said at the same time. Both were worried but only Ami knew... Ami and apparently Raido if his sigh meant anything.

Kasumi let out a long, broken sigh. "The stress from working and training all of the time... my eyes I... I have a condition and they are getting worse."

"Chakra degredation."

They all turned to Raido, who let out another long sigh and Ami felt her fear and sadness double. She knew how sensitive Kasumi was about her eyes, how delicate she was about that...

Mika, ever curious, turned towards him. "I thought that affected only the lungs?"

"Normally it does, and it's most common in the clans, the older ones usually... but some rare few begin to feel the affects in other parts of the body. The eyes and other tissues... Kasumi... she has this condition. The more chakra she uses in that area, which all Ninja's innately use in all parts of their body, the more degradation one feels. She may lose all feeling or usage in her eyes before it spreads to other parts of her body. It's been a major issue for our village, more then any other disease... I had hoped to talk about it later, but this may be the best time... Kasumi, do you feel like you really want to become a part of the Shinobi force?"

The poor girl shook for a moment. "That's why I want to join. When I got diagnosed I... I realized that there is no one working on it, nor not enough. I want to become a research shinobi to heal my eyes or at least help the village even if I can't see..."

"Then that is where you will work... it's a bit early but I think we should talk about specialization. I can help you each find a specialization outside of combat... Kasumi your tactical abilities and observational skills are incredible, but one day your may not be able to see so being a research Ninja may be a great field for your future." Raido turned to Ami, who froze. " Your taijutsu will probably be your main specialty in combat but one day you may want to take a more behind the scenes role. You could become a teacher, a Jonin leader, a political head... there are countless fields for you.

Mika, your a genjutsu specialist but your not built for direct combat but your incredibly intelligent so I could see your becoming an instructor, mind healer or a variety of other fields...so, I ask you... what do you all wish to work for after you may or may not desire or need to retire from the direct forces."

The Field went silent as each of the genins considered their future in a way that no one had ever challenged. And it was true, no one had told them that they made might have to retire from direct forces. That one day combat might not be the path for them. It was a future none of them, even the forward thinking Mika, had considered.

Then Mika spoke. " I want to work in the Prison."

The silence tripled.

Mika was well aware of how strange his sudden dream was, the looks he was getting, but the future he suddenly saw was incredible. Yet he still felt uncomfortable with the stares. Sighing loudly, he turned away. "I love genjutsu, but I wonder if there are applications for healing. Statistically most of the prisoners are victims with PTSD or some other issue. How could my illusions help them... reducing recidivism or undoing the damage of our profession instead of stowing them away for decades, wasting money on their capture and care."

Raido's smile was beautiful. " Then I will organize for you to tour the prison. I can see you excelling there, More so your skills lead to capture anyway so starting out as a hunter ninja for capture would be a great way to get your foot in the door."

The sudden wave of pride he felt made Mika uncomfortable, but he nodded regardless.

Then Ami spoke up. " I want to instruct those that fail that second test...I like showing off and teaching but I also think we don't have enough shinobi skilled in taijutsu. I remember how many people that struggled in class so... "

Smiling even more, Raido turned away. "Your specialties cannot be entirely codified until you become chunin, but we can work on getting the basics. These skills have some application to grunt work so we will work there. I will see if I can get all of you, yes even you Kasumi, for a tour. But until then, we need to finish our exericises… Kasumi you need to learn how to throw by instinct, I happen to be quite good with that, so I will do what I can to teach you... Oh and tomorrow is our first mission. so we will be ending in an hour. Look forward to that."

To say they were all excited was so far beneath the truth that it bored on a bald face lie.

* * *

**Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews. **

**This was fun and it is respiring me to write. **

**Love, your Ninja Overlord, **

**Mika. **


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